Ear piercing earrings stud

ABSTRACT

An ear piercing stud includes a post including a sharpened first end and a second end and a setting portion including a base secured to the second end of the post and a plurality of prongs configured to retain a stone in the setting portion. The prongs have a substantially constant thickness along length and width dimensions thereof. The base has a substantially same thickness as the plurality of prongs. The plurality of prongs are bent into a configuration having two side portions coupled together at an angle. Ridge-like strengthening structures run in a lengthwise direction along a central portion of each of the plurality of prongs. The setting portion is formed of a heat treatable gold alloy that increases in strength upon heat treatment.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/148,932, entitled EARPIERCING EARRING STUD, filed on Apr. 17, 2015, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Disclosure

Aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are directed generallyto apparatus and methods for piecing portions of the body of a subject,for example, for piecing the ears of a subject.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Persons who desire to adorn themselves with body jewelry, for example,earrings, nose rings, navel jewelry, or body jewelry on other portionsof the body often have the desired area of the body pierced to providean aperture through which a portion of the body jewelry may be passed tosecure the body jewelry to the body. One method of piecing earlobesinvolves passing a post of a piercing earring or piercing stud throughthe earlobe with a piecing “gun” so that the post extends outward from arear side of the earlobe while a setting portion of the earring remainson the front of the earlobe. The piercing stud may be retained in theearlobe with a clutch that engages a notch or a threaded portion on thepost of the piecing stud. The piercing stud is often left in place for aperiod of weeks to allow the piercing to heal without closing.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, there isprovided an ear piercing stud. The ear piercing stud includes a postincluding a sharpened first end and a second end and a setting portionincluding a base secured to the second end of the post and a pluralityof prongs configured to retain a stone in the setting portion.

The prongs have a substantially constant thickness along length andwidth dimensions thereof. The base has a substantially same thickness asthe plurality of prongs. The plurality of prongs are bent into aconfiguration having two side portions coupled together at an angle.Ridge-like strengthening structures run in a lengthwise direction alonga central portion of each of the plurality of prongs. The settingportion is formed of a heat treatable gold alloy that increases instrength upon heat treatment.

In one embodiment, the plurality of prongs are approximately 0.008inches in thickness. In another embodiment, the ear piercing stud isadapted to be inserted in an ear piercing gun. In yet anotherembodiment, the plurality of prongs each include a radius that runsperpendicular to a force applied to the stone during an ear piercingprocess. In another embodiment, the setting portion includes a base, andwherein the plurality of prongs substantially direct an applied force toa center of the base of the setting portion which transfers the appliedforce to the center of the post.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation al view of a prior art ear piercing stud;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of an embodiment of an ear piercing studin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a photograph of an embodiment of an ear piercing stud inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention from the side;

FIG. 4 is another photograph of an embodiment of an ear piercing stud inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention from the side;

FIG. 5 is a photograph of a setting portion of an embodiment of an earpiercing stud in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 6 is a photograph of an embodiment of an ear piercing stud inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention mounted in an earpiercing gun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the detailsof construction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. Aspects andembodiments disclosed herein are capable of other embodiments and ofbeing practiced or of being carried out in various ways.

Aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are generally directed toapparatus and processes for piecing earlobes or other body parts of asubject. The subject may be a human subject, although aspects andembodiments disclosed herein may also be suitable for use with non-humansubjects.

An example of a prior art ear piercing stud is illustrated in FIG. 1,generally at 100. The piercing stud 100 includes a post 105 and asetting portion 110. The post 105 includes a sharpened first end 115 anda second end 120 secured to a base 125 of the setting portion 110. Anotch 130, configured to retain a clutch (not shown), is formedcircumscribing the post 105 proximate the sharpened first end 115. Thesetting portion 110 includes a plurality of prongs 135, for example,four prongs 135 that are used to secure a stone or jewel 140 in thesetting portion 110. The piercing stud 100 may be formed of a metal, forexample, gold or stainless steel or another material that will not causean infection in the ear of a subject. The jewel 140 may be a natural orsynthetic precious stone, for example, a diamond or ruby, or may bezirconia, colored or uncolored glass, or even plastic.

The prongs 135 vary in thickness along their length and differ inthickness from the base 125 of the setting portion 110. The thicknessand dimensions of the setting portion 110 require the setting portion tobe formed of a soft material, for example, 14K gold so that the settingportion 110 may be formed into the desired shape with conventional metalforming equipment.

An example of an improved piercing stud in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 2, generally at 200. Thepiercing stud 200 includes a post 205 and a setting portion 210. Thepost 205 includes a sharpened first end 215 and a second end 220 securedto a base 225 of the setting portion 210, for example, by soldering orbrazing. A notch 230, configured to retain a clutch (not shown), isformed circumscribing the post 205 proximate the sharpened first end215. The setting portion 210 includes a plurality of prongs 235, forexample, four prongs 235 that are used to secure a stone or jewel 240 inthe setting portion 210. The piercing stud 200 may be formed of a metal,for example, gold or stainless steel or another material that will notcause an infection in the ear of a subject. In some embodiments, themetal is a heat treatable gold alloy that exhibits a harness orstiffness of about 50% or greater above that of a non-heat treated goldalloy having a comparable gold content. The jewel 240 may be a naturalor synthetic precious stone, for example, a diamond or ruby, or may bezirconia, colored or uncolored glass, or even plastic.

The prongs 235 of the piercing stud 200 have a thickness that issubstantially the same along their lengths and widths and that issubstantially the same as the thickness of the base 225 of the settingportion. As used herein, the length dimension of the prongs 235 is adirection extending toward or away from the base 225. The prongs 235 ofthe piercing stud 200 are substantially thinner than the prongs 135 ofthe piercing stud 100. In one embodiment, the prongs 235 of the piercingstud 200 may be about 0.008 inches thick while a comparably sizedpiercing stud 100 may be formed from 0.014 inch thick flat stock. Thereduced thickness of the prongs 235 of the piercing stud 200 as comparedto the prongs 135 of the piercing stud 100 provide for the settingportion 210 of the piercing stud 200 to be formed of a harder or stifferalloy than the setting portion 110 of the piercing stud 100 while stillbeing able to be formed into a desired final shape using conventionalforming equipment. The setting portion 210 of the piercing stud 200 maybe formed of a heat treatable gold alloy that may be heat treated prioror after formation into a desired shape and/or before or after beingsecured to the second end 220 of the post 205. This heat treatmentprovides the material of the setting portion 210 with a mechanicalstrength or stiffness significantly greater, for example, about 50%greater or more, than an alloy having a comparable gold content such asmight be used to form the setting portion 110 of the piercing stud 100.

The prongs 235 of the piercing stud 200 include lower portions below anarea 250 of contact with the jewel 240 that are folded to form two sideportions joined at an angle, for example, an obtuse angle, asillustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5. The folding of the lower portions ofthe prongs 235 results in a ridge-like structure 245 being formed in acentral area of the prongs 235 and running along the length of the lowerportions of the prongs 235. The ridge-like structure 245 increases thestrength and rigidity of the prongs 235.

The rigid base and prong design of embodiments of the piercing stud 200incorporate a radius in each prong 235 in area 250 that runsperpendicular to the force applied to the jewel 240 during the earpiercing process. The rigid prongs 235 direct all of the force to thecenter of the base 225 of the setting portion 210 which ultimatelytransfers the force to the center of the piercing post 205.

As a result of the geometry of the setting portion 210, the settingportion may be formed using a stronger material than the setting portion110 of the piercing stud 100, and with less material than the settingportion 110 of the piercing stud 100, while exhibiting sufficientstrength to be reliably utilized with conventional piercing guns orother traditional delivery mechanisms for piecing earlobes or otherportions of a subject's body. For example, in one embodiment, a piercingstud 100 may weigh about 0.115 grams when formed from 14K gold, while acomparably sized piercing stud 200 also formed of a 14K gold alloy andhaving a post 205 of the same thickness as the post 105 of the piercingstud 100 and configured to retain a same sized jewel 240 as the piercingstud 100 may weigh about 0.073 grams. The piercing stud 200 thusprovides for a weight savings of about 36% as compared to a comparablysized piercing stud 100. The reduced amount of material used to producethe piercing stud 200 as compared to the piercing stud 100 may result insignificant cost savings when the piercing stud 200 is formed from aprecious metal such as gold.

A further advantage of the piecing stud 200 over the piercing stud 100is that the relatively thin prongs 235 of the piecing stud 200 and thegeometry of the prongs 235 provide for a low profile setting whichfollows the shape of the jewel 140 and minimizes vacant areas within thesetting area 210 after setting the jewel 240 in the piecing stud 200.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, embodiments of the piecing stud 200 may beused with traditional delivery mechanisms for piecing earlobes or otherportions of a subject's body, for example, piercing gun 300.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ear piercing stud comprising: a post includinga sharpened first end and a second end; and a setting portion includinga base secured to the second end of the post and a plurality of prongsconfigured to retain a stone in the setting portion, the prongs having asubstantially constant thickness along length and width dimensionsthereof, the base having a substantially same thickness as the pluralityof prongs, the plurality of prongs bent into a configuration having twoside portions coupled together at an angle, ridge-like strengtheningstructures running in a lengthwise direction along a central portion ofeach of the plurality of prongs, the setting portion formed of a heattreatable gold alloy that increases in strength upon heat treatment. 2.The ear piercing stud according to claim 1, wherein the plurality ofprongs are approximately 0.008 inches in thickness.
 3. The ear piercingstud according to claim 1, wherein the ear piercing stud is adapted tobe inserted in an ear piercing gun.
 4. The ear piercing stud accordingto claim 1, wherein the plurality of prongs each include a radius thatruns perpendicular to a force applied to the stone during an earpiercing process.
 5. The ear piercing stud according to claim 1, whereinthe setting portion includes a base, and wherein the plurality of prongssubstantially direct an applied force to a center of the base of thesetting portion which transfers the applied force to the center of thepost.